Pre-assembled suture anchor assemblies of the sort comprising a suture anchor adapted to anchor a portion of a suture in bone, a length of suture and at least one surgical needle are known in the art. In such assemblies, one end of the anchor is typically provided with a bore through which the suture is threaded, and the needles are attached to the opposite ends of the suture. By pre-assembling these components together as a single unit prior to sterilization and packaging, the several components of the suture anchor assembly need not be separately unpackaged and assembled either immediately prior to or during a surgical procedure. In addition, the danger of operating room personnel dropping or misplacing a component, particularly a small suture anchor, is minimized.
Packaging systems for such pre-assembled suture anchor assemblies are also known in the art. For example, one such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,730, entitled "Holder for Suture Anchor Assembly", the specification and drawings of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. In that system, a holder (typically formed out of a plastic block having appropriate surface recesses formed therein) is provided which is adapted to separately and releasably carry the pre-assembled anchor, suture and needle(s). A cover is also provided for selectively covering the outside of the holder and releasably maintaining the pre-assembled components on the holder prior to dismounting for use in a surgical procedure.
The packaging system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,730 has a number of advantages. For one thing, it facilitates sterilization of the pre-assembled suture anchor assembly prior to assembly. In addition, it provides a means for holding the suture anchor steady while it is united with a suture anchor installation tool. Furthermore, it releases the suture in a controlled fashion after the suture anchor is removed from the holder, thereby minimizing tangling problems. Finally, it continues to shield the needle(s) from both operating room personnel and the patient after the suture anchor and most of the suture have been removed from the holder, releasing the needles from their holder positions only in response to a deliberate action to accomplish the same.